A recent social media post by a Bangladeshi professor, Arifa Rahman Ruma, which claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami were responsible for the brutal killing of a Chhatra League activist in Narsingdi, has been debunked as disinformation.
Ruma shared a video with the caption accusing Jamaat-e-Islami of the crime and criticized the interim government led by Nobel Laureate Muhammad Yunus for failing to act.
Ruma was the first secretary and counsellor at the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had called back Ruma and six more of Bangladesh’s ambassadors who were on contractual postings overseas on August 15.
Ruma is also an associate professor at Bangladesh Open University.
Her claim was swiftly fact-checked by journalists and experts.
David Bergman, a British journalist, responded to the post on his X (formerly Twitter) account, revealing significant discrepancies in the video’s origins.
According to Bergman, AFP fact-checker Qadaruddin Shishir confirmed that the video first appeared on social media in 2018, far before the alleged incident in Bangladesh.
Furthermore, the video was linked to a criminal incident involving Brazil’s Primer Comando da Capital, a notorious gang, and was filmed in a Paraguayan jail cell, not Bangladesh.
Bergman emphasized that the crime depicted in the video had no connection to Jamaat-e-Islami or Bangladesh, thereby exonerating the political party from the false allegations.
Muhammad Mollah, the UK and European spokesperson for Jamaat-e-Islami also issuing a statement on X.
He categorically denied any involvement by the party in the incident, calling it a false claim spread by supporters of the Awami League.
Mollah demanded an apology from those responsible for spreading the misinformation and challenged the ruling party to prove their allegations.
Meanwhile, Ruma’s X account had been restricted.
X displayed a warning message on her profile, stating: “Caution: This account is temporarily restricted. You’re seeing this warning due to unusual activity from this account.”
